The era of the independent (and politicized) Thai police is over

[The cartoon shows that, under the National Council for Peace and Order (NPCO), the police force plays a subservient role to the military. The military has forced the police to tackle problems of crime that were ignored previously under political influence. With military promises to dismantle and decentralize the command structure of the police, the dream that the Royal Thai Police could have the status and power to rival the military is dying.

Update: Many have asked “when did the police ever rival the military?”

Thaksin signaled he would mimic Phao’s ruthlessness by using the quote in his speech launching the “war on drugs” on January 14, 2003. This war saw thousands of suspected drug dealers murdered, often on their way to police stations to answer police summons.

Interestingly, the Pibul dictatorship, under which Gen. Phao served, attempted to monopolize the rice trade with its own payment scheme, and just like the Shinawatras, severely disrupted the rice industry and lost Thailand its leadership of the world rice market.

Thaksin’s rise to power gave hope that the police could again rival the army as political muscle. With the police reporting directly to the Prime Minister’s office instead of the interior ministry as in the past, this perhaps signaled that the police force could be used to support the aspirations of a single political party and have its top ranks populated by Shinawatra family members and political cronies.]